Case Study:
Remote Storage Solution validated
using Anue Network Emulators

Summary
For many large enterprises, establishing a remote storage data center is an important business and regulatory requirement. Anue Systems is helping one such organization meet its essential storage extension needs by emulating the delays and impairments that are inherent on a long distance network.

Customer Initiative
One of the largest auto insurance companies in the US, with 10+ million customers, is implementing a disaster recovery backup solution from its mid-west headquarters to a remote data center in Colorado as part of the company’s business continuity process. The solution includes synchronous DASD (direct-access storage device) mirroring over the nearly 2500-kilometer distance.

Before starting this project, their team knew that delays and impairments experienced on a network of this size can have devastating affects on storage software applications. In particular, such problems can impact the performance of the network, the integrity of critical business data and the recovery time in case of a disaster. Like many forward thinking organizations, this project team developed a detailed test plan to validate its remote storage solution in an “emulated” real world environment prior to deployment.

Project Implementation
The team began by purchasing Anue’s combo Gigabit ETHERNET and SONET Network Emulators to emulate the long distance optical network provided by AT&T. This WAN link is SONET OC-48 (2.488 Gbps), with a 99.85% error free seconds service level commitment. This performance level corresponds to bit error rate setting on the Anue Emulator of 6 x 10-13. Transmission delays experienced by end users or software applications will be approximately ten milliseconds in each direction.

After emulating the physical layer transmission, the customer switched the Anue Emulator into GigE mode. In a test bed, they then connected the bi-directional Anue box in-line between two endpoint multiprotocol switching platforms, including Cisco’s Optical Multi-Service Edge & Transport (COMET) and the McData UltraNet Multi-Service Director. A Hitachi Data Systems storage array was the target device. Using the delay, error injection and packet drop settings on the Anue Network Emulator, the team was able to subject these devices to the worst case conditions they would experience in a production network and quantify their performance.

Finally, with the Anue “H Series” Emulator, this customer also conducted ten Gbps distance based interoperability testing between McData, Cisco, Ciena and Foundry switching equipment.

In this way, they were able to select the best switching platform for their purposes and optimize their storage applications with the several millisecond delay between headquarters and the remote data center.

Customer Value
Anue Network Emulators are allowing the IT department at this company to validate their remote storage solution in a lab setting before deployment. The network storage team is able to confirm that their complete backup plan meets their business continuity and disaster recovery objectives given the approximate ten-millisecond transmission latency and the specified carrier service level. Without Network Emulators from Anue Systems, this organization would have to “wait and see” how the production network affects its recovery and continuity plans at the time of deployment. With Anue Emulators, performance can be repeatedly tested and characterized under different scenarios in a lab environment, streamlining the roll out of new technologies and applications. This saves time and money.

About Anue Systems, Inc.
Anue Systems is the recognized world leader in network emulation for Ethernet, SONET/SDH and Fibre Channel testing. Anue emulators are precise, versatile and feature rich, yet easy-to-use. Its line of Network Emulators offer the unique combination of hardware-based architecture for true full-linerate processing, layer 1 and 2 emulation, multi-protocol support up to 11 Gbps, and dynamically-changing impairment profiles. They are used by quality-conscious companies to preemptively and proactively verify network equipment, applications and performance. Anue customers include major network equipment manufacturers, telecom providers, government contractors, research institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Based in Austin, TX, Anue Systems has built a world-class team with expertise in network testing. For more information, visit Anue’s website at http://www.anuesystems.com.

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